Wal-Mart amendment under scrutiny

State legislator Joaquin Castro says he’ll fight efforts to repeal a state law requiring mega-employers to report how many of their employees receive public assistance, such as Medicaid or CHIP coverage.

House Speaker Tom Craddick recently asked state Attorney General Greg Abbott if the reporting provision that state lawmakers approved last year as part of school funding and tax reform violated the U.S. or Texas constitutions.

The provision requires companies that employ at least 100,000 people to report how many employees qualify and receive CHIP and Medicaid. So far, only Wal-Mart falls into that category.

Craddick wanted to know if the provision raises any potential equal protection problems.

“It is not clear that a court would find the provision unconstitutional,” Deputy Attorney General David Morales wrote in a April 17 letter to Craddick.

“It could, however, be subject to a constitutional challenge, especially if the state could not articulate some rational connection between having a large number of employees and providing public health benefits to employees and their dependents,” Morales said in the letter.

If the reporting requirement “is to solely single out or potentially embarrass a single employer for their employment practices, that, standing alone, is arguably not a legitimate state purpose,” Morales said.

Castro, a San Antonio Democrat, said he will ask colleagues to keep the reporting requirement.

“There’s no penalty. It’s not taxing them more. They’re not losing any tax benefits,” Castro said. “It’s just a way for the state to have a clearer picture of what’s going on with some of our largest employers.”